Saturday, October 9, 2010

Warblers and Sparrows

Today was 45 degrees at about 7:15 a.m. Pretty chilly, but a beautiful day. I decided I'd hang out in the lower gardens for a while since that's where a lot of the birds have been hanging out too.

Wild Asters

There were lots of sparrows and I was getting frustrated trying to identify them. Obviously there were songs, and I'm sure I saw some chippers, but some I just have no idea. Almost had a close encounter with our red fox. It started trotting down the lane that I was standing in between gardens and then suddenly realized I was there and turned tail. Too bad, because I thought I could get a great close up photo.

Saw a flock of crows, robins, and what I think was probably a Coopers hawk that flew from the golf course side across the parking lot. The little white wild asters are doing very well and are populating the meadow in excellent numbers. I don't remember seeing these or at least so many last year. I believe the lack of dumping this past winter has made a difference in the wildflower numbers.

Pine Warbler? (It's a Blackpoll)

Finally decided to check out the upper gardens. On the pathway up I heard a nuthatch and saw lots of chickadees, but something else caught my eye. I think it was a pine warbler (pictured left) and hopefully, someone will correct me if I'm wrong. There were several of them.

In the upper gardens were lots of sparrows and some kind of warbler or kinglet that was too quick for me to identify. Was wishing I had someone with me to help id some of what I saw but hopefully we'll some of these birds tomorrow on the bird walk with Alison and Haynes.

3 comments:

Do I see streaks on the back of this bird, Suzette? That would eliminate Pine Warbler. I can't see the leg color, nor the length of the tail (much longer in Pine than in Blackpoll). I think this is probably a Blackpoll Warbler.

Nahanton Park

Nahanton Park is a very special wildlife area. In a relatively small space, there are several different habitats - the river, a pond, woods, meadow and gardens. These all contribute to the unusual and diverse wildlife one is able to experience on a daily basis at the park.

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